Inner Beauty
by CanzetYote
Summary: Zoophobia. Female Reader X Leonardo. Lenny is feeling sad that his twin is getting more girl action than him. Upon meeting you, could the two of you be a perfect match?


**NOTE:** _Just did this Zoophobia ReaderXLeonardo oneshot. Lenny is just too adorkable not to write about. As I'm pretty sure Lenny is straight, I made this for a female reader in mind._

Rusty marched through the halls of the Zoo Phoenix Academy, pondering who he would push around next. Recently, bullying Jack and Autumn got boring for the dog. He knew he needed a new target to keep things fresh. Quinton, Leonardo and Kestral popped into his mind. The thought of breaking Quinton's glasses, busting the rest of Leonardo's teeth out and making Kestral cry filled his heart with adrenaline. Next time he encountered one of the three, the pummeling would commence.

The sound of a flushing toilet was heard and a tall, thin foxlike creature stepped out of the stall with a look of sadness and defeat on his long, pointy face. His tail dragged across the floor and his ears wilted as he slowly walked his way to the bathroom sink.

Leonardo gazed at himself in the mirror, trying his best to flash a smile. His messed up eye and missing teeth stared back at him through the mirror and he let out a sigh. Why was his twin so much more handsome than he was? Vincent always got the girl in the end while poor Lenny found himself sitting alone.

The more he thoughts about it, he felt a lump form in his throat. A bitter tear escaped Lenny's white eye, streaking down his muzzle and plopping into the sink as it dripped off his the tip of his nose. He let out a long, pained whimper and quickly wiped his tears from his eyes when he was suddenly shoved against a wall and a rough voice penetrated his ears, "Stop your cryin, ya walking twig or I'll give you something to REALLY cry about!"

Lenny spun around and faced Rusty who had an evil smile slowly crossing his muzzle. He let out a nervous chuckle, "Oh uh...heya Rusty. Sure is a beautiful day out, right?"

Rusty reached up and grabbed the taller canine by his bowtie, yanking him down to eye level, "I'm bored of fighting Jack and Autumn, so it looks like today is your lucky day, you gap-toothed faggot! You're gonna need the best dentist in Safe Haven when I'm done with the rest of your teeth."

Swiftly, Rusty slammed his fist into Lenny's gut, knocking the wind out of him. The dog just laughed, "You're lucky that hipster brother isn't here to protect you, you f-"

Instantly, Rusty was grabbed in a headlock from behind by Addison. The pretty boy just smirked at the dog, "You mess with one member of the film club, you mess with us all. You're lucky I'm not Vincent or you'd be toast." Addison then turned his attention to Leonardo who looked a little shaken by the physical encounter, "You can go now, Lenny, I've got this."

Lenny nodded, a nervous grin on his face and made a beeline for the bathroom exit while Rusty struggled in Addison's iron grip.

As Lenny stepped outside, he wasn't paying attention to where he was going and bumped straight into you as you were carrying your books, causing them to fall and scatter everywhere. Lenny lost his footing and fell to the ground with a thud. You rushed up to him, trying to help him up, "Oh my goodness! Are you okay?"

Lenny chuckled a bit as you helped him up, "Y...yeah, I'm fine. Just a little banged up but I'll survive." He spoke in a thick Boston accent and grinned at you with his adorable, gap-toothed grin. Sweat was trickling down his face and his heart was still pumping with adrenaline over Rusty's attack.

You slowly picked up your books after helping Lenny up and he happily handed you a couple of the books that had fallen. Again, he chuckled a bit, "So um...do you bump inta others ta greet them or was that an accident? By the way, I'm Leonardo but you can just call me Lenny or Leo."

You smiled at him, "Hi, I'm Y/N. It's umm...nice to meet you? Sorry I can't shake your hand at the moment, my hands are full of books."

"Yeah..." Lenny chuckled nervously, tears forming in his eyes.

You frowned at the canine, "Are you all right? You seem a little scared."

"I'm fine...j-just a little bit jittery...had a lil too much cawfee." Lenny grinned in spite of his tears.

You frowned again, "Well, it was nice meeting you, Lenny. I'm sure we'll cross paths again. Have a safe day, okay?"

"Yeah...same to you, Y/N. Same to you..." Lenny handed you your books back and made a dash towards the film room. You scratched your head in confusion for a bit then shrugged. What a high-strung character. Yet, oddly cute in a different way.

You went to your respective class and the day was a slow one. You just couldn't get that awkward, toothy grin of Lenny's out of your head. It seemed to stick with you as you daydreamed in class. Eventually, the bell rang and you went to the school's cafeteria. You walked around a bit, looking for a certain grey-furred fox when you heard a soft whimpering noise. Looking around, you noticed Lenny curled up on a nearby bench. His head was down and he had tears rolling down his nose as he hugged himself. Frowning you walked up over to him and placed your hand on his shoulder, "Lenny, are you okay? Is something wrong?"

Lenny just sniffled and rubbed his eyes in response before brushing a stray tear from the bridge of his long snout with a gloved paw, "H...hey, Y/N. F-fancy meetin you here..." He tried to grin at you but wound up looking tearful and pathetic.

You put your arm around him, "Why are you crying, Lenny?"

Lenny's ears wilted and he frowned, "I...I'll be okay...just need some funny videos ta cheer me up an I'll be hunky dory!"

Lenny chuckled nervously, a fresh tear rolling down his snout as he bowed his head.

"I think you need more than videos to cheer you up. Tell me what's wrong." You replied, reaching up and petting the tuft of fur on Lenny's head. It felt so soft as you ran your fingers through it.

Lenny sniffed, watching the tear drip off the end of his nose and hit the cafeteria floor with a splat, "Well, I've got dis twin brother an he and I sometimes compete ta get a girl. Well...he won the affections of this one girl while I lost..." Lenny paused for a few seconds, wiping his eyes to compose himself, "On toppa dis, I've been gettin' attacked by this one bully. Normally, he picks on other kids but recently, I'm his new target."

You frowned and hugged Lenny, "I'm sorry you had to go through with that."

"My brother is so much cooler den me. Better lookin, smarta, plus he's got a nice hat that the ladies love...all I've got is dis silly bowtie..." Lenny replied sadly.

You reached up and started petting Lenny's ears when you heard another Boston accent shout in your direction, "Ey, get your hands offa my brother!"

You turned around to the voice and noticed an angry grey fox in a fedora marching towards you. Lenny turned to face his brother and shivered nervously, "It's not what it looks like, Vince, she's not hurting me!"

Vincent crossed his arms with a stern look on his face, "Den why are ya cryin?"

"I was just a lil sad and Y/N here came ova to comfort me." Lenny explained to his brother as he wiped his eyes.

Vince peered down his long snout at you and then his face softened into a warm smile, "Is dat so? Thanks for takin cara my bro. Name's Vincent but you can call me Vinny or Vince."

You shook Vince's paw, "I'm Y/N. By the way, did you know that your brother was being bullied by someone? That's what he told me, anyway."

"Ya mean Rusty? Addison caught him in da bathroom. He was pushing my bro around. When I heard, I was pretty ticked off so Sahara and I tied him to a chair and made him watch that one failed attempt at a movie we made. It was so bad, I hang my head in shame every time I see dat garbage." Vince replied, "But we keep that tape ta punish anyone who messes with da film club."

You laughed a bit, "Pretty creative idea for a torture technique. How bad can one video really be?"

Vince's ears wilted and he shuddered, "So bad it made me question da meanin of life itself."

Lenny nodded in agreement, "That video is a fate worse den death itself."

You laughed a bit as you continued to pet Lenny on his head. Vince smiled, "All right. So I'm guessin you're Lenny's girl now, huh? Dat's cool, there are plenty of otha fish in the sea for me. Just promise me ya won't do anything ta hurt him. He's pretty fragile."

Lenny crossed his arms, "Fragile? What are ya talkin about? I'm da one who does all the crazy stunts while you sit behind that cozy camera of yours!"

Vince smirked, "I meant emotionally, ya are pretty fragile. Rememba when ya cried over that sad animal story Carrie talked about in da assembly?"

Lenny whimpered, "But...that was so sad! She...she...had to put that one pet of hers down and..." He sniffled a bit and in an instant, Lenny wrapped his arms around you, hugging you close with a vice-like grip. He was squeezing you so tight, it felt like an anaconda's squeeze in spite of his scrawny build.

Awkwardly, you hugged Lenny back as he let out a sob and a tear trickled down his muzzle.

Vince couldn't help but grin at you, "As I was saying, looks like ya got a keeper if sensitive types appeal to ya."

With a sniffle, Lenny released his grip on you and gave you the saddest, most adorable smile he could manage. You smiled back as you wiped the tear from Lenny's muzzle with your thumb. He forced a nervous laugh, "So...um...it's a date?"

"Um...yeah...maybe...I guess so?" You replied awkwardly.

Lenny practically hopped up and down with joy, hugging you again and giving you a sloppy lick on the cheek which is something Spam would likely do on a regular basis but Lenny was so excited, he could barely contain his joy. Vince patted his twin on the back, "I'm happy for ya, looks like ya scored pretty big."

Lenny practically squeaked with delight, looking cuter than ever before, "What do you have in mind for the date?"

"Ummmmm...fast food, I guess." You replied, "I'm not rich enough to go to a fancy restaurant. Since it's a first date, I'd prefer to be as casual as possible."

Lenny just chuckled a bit, "All right, I can do casual. One time Vince and I dressed in street clothes for a video. Still got that dirty old vest, ha ha."

Vince laughed as he remembered the video, "Oh yeah, the homelessness awareness vid, I remember that."

You smiled at the two foxes before turning your attention to Lenny and gazing into his large, goofy eyes. He smiled at you, "Do ya think I'd look cute in a dingy, torn up vest?"

You smiled back and reached up, stroking his ears, "I think true beauty lies inside, it doesn't matter what you wear as long as you're good inside, that's what counts."

The more eccentric twin blushed at the remark as you continued to stroke his headfur, "Awwww...that's so sweet of you."

Lenny gave you a quick yet brazen nuzzle and Vince just chuckled, "All right, I'll leave ya two lovebirds alone. I've got a film that needs a few finishing touches." He then turned to you, "Remember what I said bout my bro being part of da film club 'family'. Do anything ta hurt him and we'll be on ya like bees."

You chuckled nervously at Vince's threat, "All right, I'll treat him with kindness." You continued to stroke and pet Lenny, scratching behind his ears as he made content animal noises from the petting and leaned in close to you.

Vince nodded with a warm smile and exited the cafeteria while Lenny still cuddled with you. Just then, your stomach began growling and you looked over at the awkward canine who was hugging you like a teddy bear. Poor thing really was a lonely one. With a sigh, you gently pushed him away, "Sorry Lenny, I gotta get some food. After all, it's lunch time you know."

Lenny just smiled back, "It's okay, I understand."

You stood up and gave Lenny a quick kiss on the nose, causing him to blush, "I'll see you later for the date, okay?"

"Okay...ummmm...good night!" Lenny waved at you as you went to get your lunch.

What an awkward meeting. What a strange creature. Nevertheless, you still couldn't but find him cute and endearing in his own quirky way. You sighed to yourself, maybe you really did have a crush on that gap-toothed bowtie wearing goofball. All you knew is you were going to be in for quite an interesting date, whether it be casual or fancy. The end.


End file.
